CONGRESSMAN CHAKA FATTAH, FREDDIE MAC AND CHASE LAUNCH PHILADELPHIA HOMEOWNERSHIP CAMPAIGN

Philadelphia, PA – In an effort to enable more African Americans and Latinos to take the important steps toward homeownership, Freddie Mac, Chase Home Finance and the Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement (PCCA) today announced a new awareness and outreach campaign in Philadelphia called "Homeownership: Let the TRUTH Move You." The campaign debunks common misconceptions about homeownership that are stopping some minority families from even considering buying a home. Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) joined in the announcement.

Research conducted by Freddie Mac suggests that reliable, accurate information about home buying may not be reaching minority communities. The research uncovered several common misconceptions about home buying among African Americans and Latinos. For example, about 40 percent of African Americans and Latinos believe that they need a 20 percent down payment to buy a home, and about half believe that they need almost perfect credit to get a loan. In addition, more than half of African Americans and Latinos believe that they must have the same job for at least three years to get a mortgage.

In addition, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeownership rates for African American and Latino households are 25 percent lower than the rates for non-minority households. In Philadelphia the homeownership rate is 47 percent for Latinos, 53 percent for African Americans and 76 percent for whites.

"One of the biggest hurdles to homeownership is a lack of trusted sources of information which keeps thousands of African American and Hispanic families from achieving the American Dream," said Rep. Fattah, "I'm glad to be a part of the Freddie Mac Homeownership: Let the TRUTH Move You public awareness campaign, which will help close the minority home ownership gap by giving families reliable, accurate information about home buying."

"We believe that lack of access to accurate information is a barrier to homeownership," said Craig Nickerson, vice president of Expanding Markets for Freddie Mac. "We can’t allow misinformation to be a barrier to the families who may want to buy a home. The strength of this campaign is that it is a continuation of efforts by many organizations working together in the community to address the barriers faced by minority homebuyers. Freddie Mac is honored to be working with grassroots organizations that really understand how to reach people who may be facing obstacles to buying a home."

The campaign, designed to address the misconceptions identified through Freddie Mac research, will provide straightforward and up-to-date information about all aspects of homeownership, including costs associated with home buying and credit history requirements through a series of one-hour educational sessions in English and Spanish.

PCCA will conduct the educational sessions at various locations throughout Philadelphia. The next sessions will be held March 23 and May 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Dignity Housing, 7047 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia. Interested individuals are encouraged to call a toll-free number 1-866-7TRUTHS, or 1-877-ATREVE1 in Spanish to register for the free educational sessions.

LaVerne Jones, PCCA’s executive director adds, "It’s critically important for us to get the right information about home buying into our communities. Buying a home can be intimidating and knowing what information to trust can be challenging. The Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement is glad to be a source of reliable, accurate facts about homeownership."

"Chase’s goal is to strengthen communities by increasing homeownership," said Rod Gaines, vice president of Chase Home Finance. "Chase offers a broad range of home financing solutions to individuals nationwide, and we are pleased to be working with Freddie Mac to provide the African American and Latino communities with useful information about the mortgage process and how to qualify to buy a home."

"There is a lot of misinformation about home buying out there and that leaves people vulnerable to being taken advantage of," said Jones. "Today there are many more homeownership opportunities and flexibility in home buying than ever before. It is our job to better inform people, for example, to let them know that a 20 percent down payment is no longer an industry standard."

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and two million renters in America.

With the 2004 merger of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp., Chase Home Finance’s parent company now includes more than 2,500 Bank One and Chase bank branches in 17 states. Chase Home Finance, an Equal Housing Lender, is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey and is one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders, serving more than four million customers.

MYTH	FACTS
Need almost perfect credit rating to qualify for a mortgage.	You don’t need a perfect credit record. Even with past credit problems, you may still be able to buy a home. And, you can fix and improve your credit record.
A down payment of as much as 20 percent is required to buy a home.	You may be able to buy a home with a downpayment of 3 percent or less. Today, the downpayment needed to buy a home is much lower that it once was. However, closing costs, property taxes and moving expenses are part of the cost of buying a home.
Lenders share personal financial information with each other and the government.	Banks and other financial institutions protect your personal financial information – it’s the law.
People who do not have a checking or savings account cannot buy a home.	Having a savings and checking account is a good idea. But you can buy a home without having a bank account.
You must have the same job for at least three years to qualify for a mortgage.	Steady income is more important than how long you’ve been on the job. Income from second and third jobs can also be used when trying to get a mortgage loan..

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